Chronicle notes scholar ranking

Wheaton continues to rank among the top 10 liberal arts colleges in the nation when it comes to preparing students to win Fulbright Scholarships for advanced study and work abroad.

Wheaton tied for ninth place in the number of students who received Fulbrights in 2011, sharing the spot with Bowdoin, Connecticut and Wellesley colleges, among others, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Institute for International Education, which administers the Fulbright program.

The Daily Beast/Newsweek 2011 college rankings included Wheaton on a list of America’s 25 Brainiac Schools. In order to find “where brainiacs flock and flourish,” the two publications measured the number of national scholarships awarded at each institution in proportion to its student enrollment. The ranking tallied the most competitive awards in academia, including the Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, Truman and Fulbright scholarships. Since 2000, Wheaton students have won 139 of these prestigious scholarships (not that we’re counting).

Student Advisor features Sweet ’12

Raphael “Raffi” Sweet ’12 was profiled by Student Advisor, a Washington Post magazine, in the feature story “Words of Wisdom from the Upperclassmen.” In the article, five students from colleges and universities across the country offered helpful advice to new and prospective students about how to get the most out of freshman year. He offered advice on establishing a good relationship with roommates from the start: “As soon as you settle in, it is vital to establish a strong line of communication, and voice your opinion and expectations regarding rules of the room. Want the heavy-metal music turned off by 10? Lights off by midnight? Significant others prohibited from the premises on Tuesdays and Thursdays, due to study schedules? Talk openly about it.”

Krebs writes essay for Inside Higher Ed

The public mission of private liberal arts colleges is not always well defined. Paula Krebs, professor of English and now a special assistant to the president, would like to change that. In her view, the change should start with encouraging all liberal arts colleges to think seriously about their community responsibilities. “The social contract between the nation and higher education, ideally, means that both parties recognize our mutual obligations,” she wrote in an essay published by the website Inside Higher Education. “Becoming aware of and then cultivating ties with various off-campus entities can strengthen a liberal arts college.”

Patch.com, a community web site, and the Attleboro Sun Chroniclefeatured students from the Elisabeth Amen Nursery School planting apple trees in the two-year-old Murphy Apple Orchard behind the Presidents’ House in the spring. With the help of Wheaton students Eric Christensen ’13 and Lewis Alfano ’14, the youngsters added 14 trees, purchased using a $500 grant from the National Gardening Association and Jamba Juice. The nursery school, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary, is affiliated with the Wheaton psychology department.

Another reason to love Ann Curry: She takes responsibility for her mistakes and can even laugh about them. In an article titled “My Favorite Mistakes” that appeared recently in Newsweek, the NBC “Today” show co-host graciously recalled mixing up our Wheaton with the other one during her Commencement speech here in 2010: “I think mortified is the best way to describe how I felt,” she said. “I wrote a letter of apology to the school. I owned the mistake. I just wanted to make sure the students felt taken care of. In the speech, I tried to tell them something that would be useful. I didn’t want anything to take away from that.”